This week on Discover Nature, learn about how hunting can help your local community. While deer hunting is a popular hobby in Missouri, there is more benefit to harvesting a deer than just passing time. Through Missouri’s Share the Harvest program, hunters can donate surplus venison to those in need.
The Share the Harvest program is administered by the Conservation Federation of Missouri and the Missouri Department of Conservation. For hunters, donating is easy. A hunter can take their deer to an approved meat processor and the let the processor know how much venison is to be donated. To find a processor near you, go to MDC’s website at mdc.mo.gov and search “Share the Harvest”.
For counties where Chronic Wasting Disease testing is conducted, the deer must be tested for CWD prior to being donated, and it can only be donated to an approved processor participating in the Share the Harvest CWD- Testing Program. A list of all CWD sampling counties can be found online as well.
